Flowers from Mullick Ghat are offered at the feet of gods but ironically, the market on the banks of the Hooghly is struggling to find the ground beneath its feet. From marigold to tube roses, jasmine to dahlias, roses to lotuses and exotic orchids, flowers of all varieties and hues and fragrances are sold and bought every morning at the 168-year-old market, which stretches from under the Howrah bridge along Strand Road towards south. It is not only one of the biggest flower hubs in the country but is also turning out to be a metaphor for resilience. In 2008, the market was gutted in a midnight fire. When several promises by the administration to rebuild the market did not yield results, the traders decided to set up stalls themselves, and continue with their business despite the odds.
Bengal is India’s third-largest flower producer, after Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, growing around 10,000 tonnes a year. It is this hub at Mullick Ghat, from where these flowers are sent out to various corners of the country and even to foreign shores. Though the market does not have even 500 licensed traders, thousands of flower growers and small traders come there early in the morning every day to sell their wares. “Bengal is among the top flowerproducing states. We not only cater to the demands of the state but also the rest of the country. Many traders even export to countries in Europe and West Asia,” said Shyamal Ghosh, secretary of Mullick Ghat Phool Bajar Vyavsayee Committee.
The market springs to life even before the first ray of the sun touches the water of the Hooghly. Flower-laden trucks roll in with hundreds of labourers already waiting to unload them. The market is ready before daybreak and shortly, a whirlwind of business strikes with buyers and sellers making their transactions. Lines of vehicles again leave the area, carrying away colourful heaps of flowers from the market to other places.
One of the enduring images of the market is that of men and women sporting “floral dresses” and roaming around. The floral dresses are actually long strands of marigolds that vendors, who do not have permanent shops, drape on themselves and roam around the market, scouting for customers.
On any given day tourists and photographers can be spotted there, looking for that perfect frame. It is also turning into a favourite spot for pre-wedding shoots and for youngsters looking to make short videos. “The market generates livelihood for thousands. We receive orders throughout the year but business peaks during festivals and wedding seasons. At those times, we have to hire more hands,” said Ghosh.
The traders converge on the bank of the Hooghly every day but they cannot forget the fire that destroyed their market in April 2008, three months after a blaze raged on at Nandaram Market for 100 hours, barely half-a-km away. All the stalls were reduced to ashes and thousands lost their livelihood. Later that year, the KMC cleared a plan to build a threestorey structure with a basement and India’s first flower auction centre. The building was also supposed to house a sorting-grading and packaging unit, a cold storage unit, a lab to extract flower oils and a guesthouse. Former chief minister Buddha deb Bhattacharjee had cleared the Rs 30-crore project.
But the project never took off and the traders are still clueless about the reason behind it.
The market also faces acute water short age, an essential amenity for the survival of the market. “The work to rebuild the market and rehabilitate the traders never got off the ground. We approached almost all the departmen ts but to no avail. When we received no help from the authorities, we decided to find a solution ourselves,” said Asit Karmakar, a wholesaler at Mullick Ghat, who was among those who had helped bring the flower hub back to life.
Today, the market functioned, thanks to the initiative of the businessmen there, the traders claimed. “We have made arrangements for w ater and sheds with our own money. We also ensure we clean up the place on a regular basis,” said Karmakar.
The tourists, photographers and social media enthusiasts, who also make their way to the hub early in the morning, have brought the hub closer to the common man through their social media posts and photos. The online showcasing not only highlights the morning business, the source of colourful and fragrant flowers used for happy and sombre occasions, it also turns the focus on the plight of the hub, which the traders hope will nudge the authorities into ensuring a better working condition.
Trucks carrying flowers, ferns and leaves of various kinds reach the Mullick Ghat market before daybreak and whirring business starts off right away. Mullick Ghat, the hub of Bengal’s flower business, is a source of livelihood for thousands
